Various different methods and types of apparatus have heretofore been utilized for heat treating thermoplastic synthetic textile yarns to cause the yarn to bulk, to reorient molecular orientation of the molecules of the polymer, or the like. Likewise, various and sundry techniques have been employed for handling the treated yarns subsequent to a particular yarn treating process.
With yarn handling systems where adequate tension is maintained on the strand during processing, there is little likelihood of tangling of the strands, or other misorientation of the strands such as to cause physical problems with the strands during later handling or processing.
In an environment, however, where the yarn is being handled under substantially tensionless conditions such as in bulking units of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,408,716 to Tradewell and 3,866,279 to Kennedy, subsequent handling of the bulked yarn after exiting the heat treating unit has been problematical. To maintain the tensionless conditions, it is of course, necessary to accumulate the yarn in such fashion that take-up for production of a yarn package will not counteract the operating conditions and produce detrimental effects on the yarn being bulked or otherwise heat treated. Prior art attempts to handle the bulked yarn subsequent to the tensionless heat treating operation include conical or other shaped baskets where the yarn is randomly deposited in one end and removed at an opposite end, or where, after being deposited into the basket the yarn is continuously withdrawn at a slower rate than feeding. Yarn exiting tensionless heat treating units has also been deposited into J boxes where the yarn generally follows a sinuous path along a smooth surface in the shape of a J entering at an upper end of the J and exiting at a lower end of the J.
In both of the above yarn handling systems, particularly where bulked yarn is being handled, problems have been encountered, almost to the extent of defeating commercialization of certain heat treating, bulking processes. In particular, the random deposition of the heat treated yarns into the accumulator whatever its shape, has caused excessive tangling. Upon removal of the yarn from the prior art accumulators where a single strand is likely to become sufficiently entangled with an adjacent strand, often more than a single yarn strand is removed. The strand is then broken during subsequent processing, either immediately or downstream, and/or an improper yarn package is produced, both of which are costly and may lead to a second quality product.
The apparatus and method of the present invention represent a distinct improvement over the prior art, in that the aforementioned problems are virtually if not completely, alleviated. An improved method of operation is thus available while realizing improved process efficiency and the production of an improved product. The particular combination of elements and method steps according to the present invention are not believed to be taught or suggested by the prior art.